There are many different types of winding apparatus disclosed in prior patents for winding various types of web material into successive rolls. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,972,486 and 4,000,863 (owned by the assignee of the present invention) disclose a winding apparatus which supports a winding core at a first winding position for initial winding of the web material thereabout and then supports the roll of web material at a second winding position during continuation of winding to a final size.
The winding apparatus disclosed in these patents has achieved significant success in winding various types of web materials. However, the size of the final roll has been generally limited to a diameter of about fifty inches and this limitation is primarily imposed by the fixed lateral spacing between the first and second winding rolls at the second winding station. Also, the first winding station of the winding apparatus disclosed in said prior patents includes only a single winding roll for winding the web material to the predetermined initial size and it has been found that this arrangement may result in a "soft" initial size roll when winding certain web materials.